A Flamingo in Leominster, Massachusetts for Weathervane Wednesday

 This weathervane was photographed in Leominster, Massachusetts. 

While traveling on Route 2 in central Massachusetts we stopped at a visitor center and found this delightful flamingo weathervane.  I knew immediately that we were in the town of Leominster because of this weathervane.  Growing up in central Massachusetts in the 1960s and 1970s, every kid knew that those plastic, pink lawn flamingos were made in Leominster!  

Leominster was known as the Plastic City.  Many plastic products were produced there, not just pink flamingos!  The artist Don Featherstone created the first pink flamingo in 1957, and had his design manufactured by Union Products in Leominster.  It immediately became a pop culture hit.  In 1996 Featherstone won an Ig Nobel Prize for Art. Union Products closed in 2006, and the molds were purchased by a factory in New York who still sells them.  Factories in Leominster manufactured Foster Grant sunglasses, Tupperware, toys, and other plastic items. 

Plastic, pink flamingos were despised and also beloved by homeowners. Some believed that if a neighbor put out a pink flamingo then their own home would lose value. Others embraced the kitsch, and put out flocks of flamingos.  Leominster has made the pink flamingo part of it's local history, just like Johnny Appleseed, who was born in Leominster in 1774. Every June 23rd "Pink Flamingo Day" is celebrated in Leominster at Monument Square, by proclamation from the city hall.   

It's too bad that this two dimensional weathervane is gilded in gold instead of painted pink.  

For the truly curious:

Wikipedia "Plastic Flamingo":   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_flamingo   

Yankee Magazine "Last of the Leominster Pink Flamingos":   https://newengland.com/yankee/flamingos/  

Smithsonian Magazine "The Tacky History of the Pink Flamingo"  https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-tacky-history-of-the-pink-flamingo-18191304/    

A previous blog post about Leominster's Johnny Appleseed:  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/08/on-trail-of-johnny-appleseed.html   

Click here to see over 500 more Weathervane Wednesday posts!     https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday 

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "A Flamingo in Leominster, Massachusetts for Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted January 30, 2024, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/01/a-flamingo-in-leominster-massachusetts.html: accessed [access date]). 

On the Trail of Johnny Appleseed

This spot, with the historical markers and miniature log cabin,
marks the birthplace of Johnny "Appleseed" Chapman, in Leominister, Massachusetts

Every time I drive to my Mother’s house we drive down Route 13 through Leominster, Massachusetts.  Along the way we pass a “Welcome to Leominster” sign that says “Home of Johnny Appleseed”, a  Johnny Appleseed school , Appleseed plaza, and lots of other references to the mythical hero.  But he was a real man, and his actual name was John Chapman.  He was my 2^nd cousin, five generations removed.   His mother was Elizabeth Simonds, the niece of my 5^th great grandfather, Caleb Simonds (1720 – 1811).

One day last month when we were passing though Leominster I said to my husband, “Let’s find the historical marker for his birthplace”.  Of course, it was located on Johnny Appleseed Lane, next to the Johnny Appleseed State Park.  It was easy to find with an iPhone using Google and a mapping app, or GPS.   The memorial was small and solemn, and easy to drive past if you don’t go slowly and keep your eyes open on Johnny Appleseed Lane.   There is no space to park and pay your respects, so we pulled over on the side of the road and took a few quick photos out the car window.

NEAR THIS SITE WAS BORN
JOHN CHAPMAN
KNOWN AS
JOHNNY APPLESEED
SEPTEMBER 26, 1774          MARCH 18, 1845
LEOMINSTER HISTORICAL SOCIETY
1963

My fellow genealogists are gathering in Fort Wayne, Indiana this week for the Federation of Genealogical Societies conference.  This is near where Johnny Appleseed lies buried at the Johnny Appleseed Memorial Park.  You can see photos of this at FindAGrave.com at this link: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=1848 Or here are a few from my fellow blogger Carol A. Bowen Stevens.  Thanks, Carol!

"JOHNNY

APPLESEED"

HE LIVED FOR OTHERS

HOLY BIBLE

1774 - 1845

IN FOND MEMORY OF

JOHN CHAPMAN, ENDEARLY KNOWN AS "JOHNNY APPLESEED"

THESE GRAVESITE IMPROVEMENTS WERE PROVIDED BY

THE MEN'S GARDEN CLUBS OF AMERICA

AND

THE JOHNNY APPLESEED NATIONAL MEMORIAL FOUNDATION, INC.

SEPTEMBER 25, 1965

Johnny Appleseed Memorial Park
Fort Wayne, Indiana
photo courtesy of Carol A. Bowen Stevens

In a funny coincidence, my ancestor Caleb Simonds, mentioned above,  had a first cousin married to Colonel Loammi Baldwin (1744 – 1807), who was a renaissance man - an engineer, inventor, politician and an officer in the American Revolution.  Loammi Baldwin has a statue in his hometown of Woburn, Massachusetts, and is widely remembered as the cultivator of the Baldwin apple among all his other acomplishments. He is the husband of my 2^nd cousin six generations removed.   I wonder if Johnny “Appleseed” Chapman took Baldwin apple seeds with him on his journey to the midwest?   

This Johnny Appleseed statue is in the
Londonderry Leach Library, next to the Children's Room.
It was sculpted by Pat Verani of Londonderry.

Johnny Appleseed’s genealogy:

Generation 1:  John Chapman, born 26 September 1774 in Leominster, Massachusetts, died on 18 March 1845 in Fort Wayne, Indiana; unmarried.

Generation 2:  Johnny “Appleseed”’s parents were Nathaniel Chapman, born 13 September 1746 in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, died 18 February 1807 in Salem, Ohio; married as his first wife  on 9 August 1769 in Leominster to Elizabeth Simonds.  She was born 2 July 1748 in Ware, Massachusetts, died 18 July 1776 in Leominster.  

Generation 3: James Simonds, born 10 March 1717 in Woburn, Massachusetts, died in Leominster; married as his first wife on 12 May 1740 in Woburn to Anna Lawrence, daughter of John Lawrence and Elizabeth Stone.  They are my 5^th great uncle and aunt.

Generation 4: James Simonds, born 1 November 1686 in Woburn, died 30 June 1775 in Woburn; married on 17 June 1714 in Woburn to Mary Fowle, daughter of James Fowle and Mary Richardson.  She was born 18 June 1689 in Woburn, died 9 March 1762 in Woburn.  They are my 6^th great grandparents.

Generation 5: James Simonds, born 1 November 1658 in Woburn, died 15 September 1717 in Woburn; married 29 December 1685 in Woburn to Susannah Blodgett, daughter of Samuel Bloggett and Ruth Eggleton.  She was born 17 February 1663 in Woburn, and died 9 February 1715 in Woburn.  My 7^th great grandparents

Generation 6: William Simonds, born about 1612 in Winchester, Hampshire, England, died 7 June 1672 in Woburn; married on 18 January 1644 in Woburn to Judith Phippen.  She was born about 1619 and died 3 January 1690 in Woburn.  My 8^th great grandparents.

For more information:

The Chapman Family Association, www.chapmanfamilies.org

From the Chapman Family Association website, the Johnny Appleseed page at this link: http://www.chapmanfamilies.org/BIO/j_appleseed.html

"This Day in History- September 26" video from YouTube by the Freedom Trail Foundation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei_mKYvGU-c

New England’s Insomniac Theater visits the Johnny Appleseed Birthplace, on YouTube at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ofihZVnBG8

A story from the Worcester Telegram, 3 July 2011 “Johnny Appleseed Tale Grew Tall in Leominster” by Karen Nugent at this link:  http://www.telegram.com/article/20110703/NEWS/107039793

Johnny Appleseed Country website, sponsored by Massachusetts Visitor Center on Route 2 westbound, located between exits 35 and 36 in Leominster, Massachusetts.      http://www.appleseed.org/

Carol A. Bowen Stevens blog "Reflections from the Fence" http://www.reflectionsfromthefence.com/

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Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

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